Indiana native killed in WWII to be buried in Fairland after 80 years

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Photo of U.S. Navy Ensign Delbert LaRue “Snuffy” Martin

Written from press release

FAIRLAND, Ind. — October 1, 2025

Nearly 80 years after his fighter plane was shot down in the Pacific, U.S. Navy Ensign Delbert LaRue “Snuffy” Martin of Shelby County will finally be laid to rest at home.

Martin, a Hellcat pilot assigned to Fighter Squadron (VF) 12 aboard the USS Randolph (CV-15), was killed March 21, 1945, during an aerial mission over Yap Island in the Federated States of Micronesia. He was 23.

For decades, Martin’s remains were buried as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Earlier this year, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) confirmed his identity through DNA analysis and historical research. He will be buried with full military honors at 11 a.m. on Oct. 15 at Fairland Cemetery, next to his parents.

A Shelby County farm boy turned Navy pilot

Born Feb. 13, 1922, in Shelby County and raised in Fountaintown, Martin grew up on his family’s farm before enlisting in the Navy in Chicago on Sept. 23, 1942. He trained as an aviation cadet, earning his commission as an ensign on March 16, 1944.

Martin trained at Naval Air Training Center Corpus Christi, Texas; Naval Air Station Melbourne, Florida; and the Carrier Qualification Training Unit at Glenview, Illinois. He later reported to Naval Air Station San Diego and Naval Air Station Astoria, Oregon, before joining VF-12.

Relatives recall him as small in stature but full of fire. A first cousin described him as “a little guy, but a ball of fire,” while his squadron mates nicknamed him “Snuffy.” He flew the Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, the Navy’s primary carrier-based fighter during the war.

A final mission over Yap

By January 1945, VF-12 had joined the Randolph and participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and raids against the Japanese home islands. On March 21, 1945, Martin flew a combat and photographic reconnaissance mission over Yap Island.

Witnesses reported that his Hellcat failed to pull out of a dive and crashed into the ground in Gagil-Tomil, about half a mile from his intended target. He was reported missing in action the same day and formally presumed dead on March 22, 1946.

After the war, recovery teams disinterred remains near the crash site and cataloged them as Unknown X-397. They were later interred at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.

In 2025, DPAA researchers concluded the remains were consistent with Martin’s case. Forensic analysis confirmed the match through DNA submitted by relatives years earlier, finally bringing closure to the family. He was officially accounted for on June 18, 2025.

Decorations and honors

Ensign Martin received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart Medal, Air Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, and the World War II Victory Medal.

‘LaRue has come home’

Martin’s niece, Barbara Martin, said the identification was the result of years of persistence from groups such as the Missing Air-Crew Project, which encouraged her brother to submit DNA.

“In the time between finding out that LaRue’s remains would finally return to lie next to his parents, I’ve learned about him,” she said in a statement. “Looking at photos of him, I see that he was a handsome young man with an eager look in his eyes. I am grateful that LaRue’s remains have returned to his home. I know my grandparents would have been especially happy to have LaRue back and buried next to them.”

Martin is survived by nieces Kathryn Brown, Natalie Shepard, and Barbara Martin, and his nephew Scott Martin. He will be buried alongside his parents, J. Franklin and Anna Marie Martin.

The Navy Office of Community Outreach emphasized that Martin’s recovery was made possible through its ongoing partnership with DPAA, which continues to account for missing service members from past conflicts.

The post Indiana native killed in WWII to be buried in Fairland after 80 years first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.